“I do love Christmas.”
Dev tried to take it slow, but she was wild, demanding.
Josie was all too aware of the clock ticking, her time with him running inexorably out. He didn’t know it but she was making memories, saying good-bye. Only four hours left.
The second time Dev insisted on slow, gloriously slow.
During a brief rest period, Josie traced her initials on his chest and tried to keep him awake by asking,“How did you find me?”
“Huh? Oh, Sadie heard mysterious screams coming through the wall of a guest suite she was cleaning.” He chuckled.“She thought the hounds of hell were...”
A frisson of alarm caused Josie to sit up.“Whose room?”
“I don’t know.”
She crawled over him and to the edge of the massive bed.“Get up. Get dressed,” she called back over her shoulder.
“Hey? What...”
“Suddenly it makes sense.That had to be Estelle and Xavier’s suite of rooms. Sadie was assigned to them, and Estelle was familiar with the passages.
The séances were a ruse.They were looking for the emeralds.”
“Josie-love, come back to bed.”
She looked back at him. A beautiful naked man in the middle of a majestic bed. He held out his hand. So tempting. She hesitated. Maybe...
“We can deal with that later,” he said.
His words were like cold water. She didn’t have the luxury of time.“Hurry. Call Carson.”
“I will not.You’re not decent.”
Josie threw her chemise over her head, tossed the corset aside, and donned the green muslin dress.“Now call him.”
“Would this be the point where you’re feeling energetic?” he grumbled as he climbed off the bed.
He paused with his hand on the bell pull because she sat and hiked up her skirt to pull on her stock-ings.“ We can schedule the séance for tonight and...”
“Not if Estelle or Xavier returns to their suite and just happens to notice the big hole in the bedroom wall. I think they’ll figure out the jig is up and escape before the constable gets here. If they haven’t already.”
“Easily remedied. I’ll have several footmen detain them...”
“Where? How many more passages are there that you don’t know about? No, I think you’re right about confronting them in front of your mother, but I don’t think we can wait until tonight for a séance.”
Josie certainly couldn’t.“I have a plan. Hurry.We have lots to do.” And she had only two-and-a-half hours left.
Nineteen
“THIS IS NOT A PROPER KNOT,” DEV SAID, glancing in the mirror at the floppy bow under his chin.
Because Josie had sent Carson on an errand, she’d tied Dev’s cravat as best she could. She tucked the ends under his vest.“Think of it as a new style.”
“I’d prefer being properly dressed before going downstairs.”
She stood on her toes and kissed his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss that left her breathless.
“Although there are certain advantages to having you play valet,” he said. He roamed his hands over her body.Without her corset, every curve and her pebbled nipples were palpable beneath the delicate muslin. “And definite advantages to you not being properly dressed.”
Before he distracted her beyond her ability to resist, she pushed away and stepped back.“Think of it this way. It will be easier to undress later.” She forced a promise into her voice that she knew she couldn’t keep.
He looked deep into her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Josie-love? Tell me.”
“Nothing,” she said with a laugh she hoped didn’t sound as false as it felt. She took his hand and pulled him from the room.“Let’s get this denouement over with.”
Dev entered the library alone, leaving the door open several inches so Josie could hear the proceedings and enter on cue. He carried a large jewelry case under his arm. His mother, Estelle, and Madame X were already in the room.
At his first sight of the villains, he regretted agreeing to Josie’s plan, which did not include beating Xavier to a bloody pulp. Dev’s willpower was sorely tested, but he managed to place a smile on his face.
“Thank you for coming as I requested,” he said.
“I am always at your service,” Estelle simpered.
“Whatever you require or...want.”
“What are you doing with my ruby...good heavens, Dev,” Honoria said. “What is wrong with your cravat?”
“It’s the latest style. And this is only the case for your ruby parure. I borrowed it for this.” He flipped open the lid and presented it to his mother.
“Oh, my,” she breathed.
The emerald jewelry sparkled against the black velvet lining, drawing Estelle like a magnet.
Honoria looked up at Dev with a furrowed brow.
“Yes. Lord Robert’s emeralds.They were behind a wall in one of the secret passages.” He related Josie’s theory, leaving out certain facts about how the jewels had been found.“Apparently the mistress fatally injured herself while trying to escape through the dungeon tunnels and died crawling back up one of the stairways. At some later time, Robert must have found her body, and rather than present the tangible reminder of his past to his beloved wife, he walled up both the mistress and the emeralds she so coveted.”
“Sort of romantic,” Honoria said.
Dev rolled his eyes.“Only a woman would think a dead mistress walled up with a fortune in emeralds was romantic.”
“Not that part.Robert gave up a fortune for love.”
“I knew they were more than a myth,” Estelle said, sliding onto the sofa next to Honoria and reaching out to touch them with one finger.
Dev snapped the case shut. “Really? And how did you know that?”
Estelle jumped back but quickly recovered her poise.“I always believed the legend, ever since I was a child.”
“Is that why you wanted to see Robert’s journals?” Honoria asked innocently.
Dev sat on the opposite sofa, setting the box next to him. He had not been aware that his mother had allowed Estelle access to the notebooks. “Yes. Do tell us. Did you decode the journals?”
She licked her lips. “Only one of the later ones. And that was years and years ago. Dev gave me the idea when he worked on them. I’ve made no progress on the other journals. Each one has an entirely different code.”
“You never told me that,” Honoria said. “What did it say?”
Estelle waved away any interest. “Nothing but boring reports of estate business, dull details of horse breeding, and pages and pages of how much he adored the fair Rowena.”As she talked, her gaze kept darting to the case of jewels.
“Did he mention the emeralds?” Honoria asked.
“Not in so many words.There was a veiled reference when the crops failed for the second year in a row. ‘I long to see my fields emerald green, my wife in a new emerald green gown. I am sorely tempted but fear the monetary relief readily available but a few steps below would not be worth destroying my true jewels, my wife and family.’
Then he lapses into more romantic drivel and his plans for smuggling to avoid the duty on brandy.”
The fact that she’d memorized the words was more telling than the passage itself.
“From that you concluded the emeralds were real and buried somewhere in the castle?” Honoria asked.
“Beneath the older part of the castle,” Dev amended.
“And I was right,” Estelle said with a satisfied smile.
“Ah, yes,” Dev said. “But you were not first. I wonder, if you had found the emeralds yourself, would you have turned them over to Mother?”
“Of course I would have,” Estelle said.
And if he hadn’t known better, Dev might have even believed her righteous indignation.
“Really, Dev,” Honoria said. “You are acting quite strange.”
Estelle turned and beckoned her gypsy friend closer. “Madame, d
id you get a chance to see the emeralds?”
Dev laid his hand on the case.“That reminds me of the other issue I wanted to talk to you about, these séances.”
“There is nothing to discuss,” Honoria said.
“You know my feelings. I am determined to follow Amanu’s directions to the letter, and he has specifically requested you not be included.”
Dev glanced at Madame X and noted the avarice in her—correction—in his eyes. Dev could well imagine the unscrupulous Amanu convincing his gullible mother that the emeralds were cursed and that she must rebury them at some specific spot where Estelle and the so-called Madame X could later dig them up. “And I know why he doesn’t want me there.”
“Because you are a nonbeliever,” Honoria said.
“You know how important this is to me.”
Dev leaned forward and took his mother’s hands in his. “I know you find comfort in believing you’re speaking to Father.”
“Don’t treat me like a silly old woman. I know...”
“But it’s a sham, a charade.”
“No, it can’t be.Your father...”
“Madame X is a fraud, and we can prove it.”
Josie entered right on cue, followed by Carson and a footman carrying the séance paraphernalia.
“How did you...,” Estelle started to say as she jumped up from the seat.Then she switched tracks.
“Honoria, you can’t believe a word this woman says. She’s a stranger, a nobody. She lied about being related to the Duke of Landemere. And she has no fortune, no income from the funds, no...”
“Sit down, Estelle,” Dev said, indisputable command in his voice.
Estelle sat with a thump.
“Josie, what in the world happened to you?”
Honoria asked.
“I’ll explain later.” Josie had hoped the face powder would hide most of the bruises, and her clothes hid most of the bandages, but apparently it was not enough. Fortunately, her muscles had not stiffened up, thanks to the hot shower and Dev’s attentive...massage. Tomorrow would likely be a different story, but by then she would be home and it wouldn’t matter.
Josie directed the servants to put the stuff on the table. They bowed themselves out and closed the door. She turned to face Honoria’s confused expression. “Estelle is right.”
“See, I told you. Now...”
“Shut up, Estelle,” Dev said.
“Dev! There is no need to be rude to our guest.”
“Please continue,” Dev said to Josie through gritted teeth.
“Thank you. Lady Honoria, I entered your home under false pretenses, and I apologize for that. I am a stranger to you and a nobody. I have no fortune and no funds. But a certain shading of the truth was necessary.”
Dev raised an eyebrow.
Josie had not told him that part and his reaction was disconcerting, but she forged ahead. “I came here specifically to investigate the séances and expose Madame X as a fraud.To that end, I set certain traps before the last séance to reveal her method of producing the fake spirit guide.”
“Fake?”
“Yes, milady. I’m sorry. I truly wish it was otherwise.” “But how?”
“That’s why I had these items brought down, so we can examine them in broad daylight.”
Madame X edged toward the door. Dev stood and blocked the way.“I really think you should stay to hear this,” he said to the so-called gypsy in an almost pleasant tone.“Miss Drummond?”
His sudden formality stabbed at her heart.Was learning she was not an heiress such a big deal? It doesn’t matter.You’re leaving soon. Perhaps it would be better if Dev started distancing himself now. She concentrated on her task.
“First, I will light the Candle of Omniscience,”
she said, her hand trembling as she stuck the lucifer match and touched it to the wick. She blew out the match and positioned herself so she could see the mantel clock as she talked. “You will note during the rest of the demonstration that the candle sparks, flares, and dims in a repeating and predetermined pattern.The wick burns at a consistent rate and was pretreated at specific spots with chemicals that cause the desired effect.With a bit of practice, one can time appropriate pronouncements with those effects. For instance, now.” She turned and pointed to the candle, and it flared and sputtered.
“That proves nothing,” Estelle said in a dismissive tone. She turned to the woman on her left.
“Honoria, please stop this ridiculous exhibition by an admitted liar who...”
“Shut up, Estelle,” Honoria said.
Dev grinned. And nodded to Josie.
“The candle was the easy part, quite elementary. The appearance of Amanu was a bit trickier.
At first I was sure there must be a secret entrance to the library.”
Estelle stiffened, but Josie ignored her.
“My traps revealed that no one entered by any method other than the usual.The only logical conclusion was that the man playing Amanu had to have been in the room all along. But where would a seven-foot-tall green fellow hide? We’ll leave that puzzle for a moment and talk about the spirit guide.
“He glowed because he was coated with a phosphorescent powder. Quite dangerous. Phosphorous is highly flammable, hence its use on such items as the lucifer match I used earlier. Even in a more stable form it can cause serious injury and is potentially deadly if exposure is prolonged.”
Xavier did not flinch, so Josie knew he had been aware of the danger and deemed the potential reward worthwhile.
“We know he did this despite the risk,” Josie continued, “because I painted the top edge of the chair Madame X used with a sticky substance, and Amanu left powder residue there in the form of fingerprints.”
She wasn’t sure whether the science of individual fingerprints had been invented yet, so she’d decided not to pursue that line beyond what anyone of the period might have seen on silver plates or waxed furniture. She’d also decided to avoid the issue of whether a true spirit would actually leave fingerprints.
Josie pulled the chair to the center of the room and stood behind it. “As to him being seven feet tall...” She leaned down, popped the latch of the secret compartment, and climbed up on the door.
“I realize I’m not quite seven feet, but that indicates the man is taller than me to begin with.” She stepped down, closed the door, and said, “And the evidence disappears and no one is the wiser.”
A commotion outside the door interrupted her train of thought. The door burst open and Mrs.
Binns marched in.
“What is going on? If my charge is involved...”
“My apologies, milord,” the footman said.“She would not take no for an answer and just barreled by me.”
“How can I be expected to do my duty,” Mrs.
Binns said, “when my charge disappears for hours on end, fails to let me know...”
“Miss Drummond is exposing Madame X as a fraud,” Dev said.
“Josie? What happened to you? Where did you get those bruises?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Dev stepped in front of Mrs. Binns. “You may stay and hear the rest of the evidence if...”
“How did...”
“...if you can sit quietly and ask no questions.
You have missed certain explanations and can be filled in on those items later.”
“But how did...”
“Sshh.” He held up a finger, and Mrs. Binns closed her mouth and meekly sat down. Dev took the precaution of locking the door before resuming his position next to the sofa where his mother and Estelle were seated.
“That brings us back to the man hiding in the room,” Josie continued at his nod. “But where?
There are no closets, no cabinets large enough to conceal a man. I was stumped until I got a little help. The answer is he was hiding in plain sight.
Madame X is no lady.”
“You may remove your headgear,” Dev said to him.
Xavier pu
lled off the scarves and turban he wore. “At least that’s a relief.” He also stripped off Madame’s signature purple gloves and several layers of heavily padded clothes to reveal a slim gentleman dressed in a white shirt and fawn knee breeches. “Those rags are bloody hot.”
“Count LeFoyn, I presume,” Dev said.
Xavier clicked his heels and bowed.
Josie was impressed. She hadn’t figured out that connection.
“But if he was Madame X, how could he also be Amanu?” Honoria asked.“A person can’t be in two places at once.”
“I had an idea how he did it,” Josie said.“Based on the disruption of the powder I placed beneath the table before the séance. Carson’s discovery of this box in their rooms...”
“An unpardonable invasion of privacy.” Estelle sniffed and raised her nose even higher in the air.
Josie unbuckled the leather straps that bound the large wooden box, opened the lid, and took out the golden mask Madame wore during the séance.
“I’m sure you recognize this.”
Honoria nodded.
Then Josie removed a cagelike apparatus and clicked the mask onto the appropriate hooks. She set the cage over her head, thankful she’d remembered to ask Carson to wash the mask.
“Now if you will imagine this headpiece swathed in scarves and me in a long loose robe,” she said as she moved the chair Madame always used to the side of the table so Honoria would have the proper view.
“So, Madame sits down thus.” Josie began moaning and chanting in imitation of the gypsy seer and then suddenly stopped.“Sorry, I forgot the hands.”
She jumped up and reached into the box. She pulled out wooden replicas of Madame’s arms, correct down to the purple gloves and fancy rings. Josie draped the leather strap connecting them around her neck and hooked it under a clip at the back of the cagelike apparatus over her head.When she sat again in the chair, the dummy arms hung at her sides.
“I ask you again to imagine I’m wearing voluminous robes. The séance is proceeding, yada yada yada.” She waved and gestured as she talked, and the candle flared as if on cue. Josie smiled. She placed her hands in her lap.
Laurie Brown Page 27